Bihar seeks special package for industries, flood-control support

Employment emerged as the central issue in the Bihar polls, with both the RJD and Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraj Party foregrounding it in their campaigns. This had prompted the NDA to promise creation of one-crore job opportunities on returning to power.

In an interview with The Indian Express after the NDA’s landslide victory, JDU working president Sanjay Jha had said, “The next five years is for the youth. We have promised one crore jobs. Priority is to get investment and industry in Bihar. Second priority is skilling. Bihar has the highest youth population in the country. We couldn’t do industrialisation or bring in investments earlier because things were not ready. Now, we have support from the Centre as well. You will see industrial activity in every district of Bihar.”

The state also sought a more comprehensive flood management framework. In the Union Budget 2024-25, Bihar received a first-ever Rs 11,500 crore allocation for flood control, irrigation and river management. However, the state has argued that the existing package is largely focused on embankments, barrages and diversion of flood waters, and that a broader, technology-driven and long-term strategy is required.

While the Rs 11,500 crore package covers major structural works such as Kosi-Mechi intra-state link project, new barrages on rivers like Bagmati and Mahananda and embankment strengthening along vulnerable stretches, including the Western Kosi canal and Bagmati, consolidated official utilisation figures are not publicly available.

Large projects are still in survey, design or early construction phases, meaning major spending is expected over the coming years. Parallel state-funded efforts include flood shelters, disaster response centres and urban drainage upgrades.